Canadian retail sales dip in February, core retail sales rise

Investing.com -- Retail sales in Canada saw a minor decrease of 0.4%, amounting to $69.3 billion in February 2025, according to a report by Statistics Canada. The report indicated that sales were down in four out of nine subsectors, with the largest decrease observed in the motor vehicle and parts dealers sector.

Motor vehicle and parts dealers experienced a 2.6% decrease in sales, with all four store types within this subsector reporting declines. New car dealers led the decrease with a 3.0% drop, marking the second consecutive month of falling sales. Automotive parts, accessories, and tire retailers also recorded lower sales, down by 1.6% in February.

Despite the overall decline, core retail sales, which exclude gasoline stations and fuel vendors and motor vehicle and parts dealers, saw a 0.5% increase in February. This rise was primarily driven by higher sales at food and beverage retailers, which increased by 2.8%. Supermarkets and other grocery retailers, excluding convenience retailers, saw a 3.7% rise in sales in February, recovering from a 3.2% fall in January. Beer, wine, and liquor retailers also contributed to the increase, with sales up by 2.3%.

General merchandise retailers also reported higher sales, up 1.2% in February. However, furniture, home furnishings, electronics, and appliances retailers recorded the largest decrease to core retail sales, down by 2.9%.

Sales at gasoline stations and fuel vendors increased for a fifth consecutive month in February, up by 0.3%. In volume terms, sales at these outlets increased by 0.8%.

Retail sales decreased in seven provinces in February. The largest provincial decrease in dollar terms was observed in Quebec, down by 0.9%, marking its second consecutive monthly decline. In the Montréal census metropolitan area, sales were down by 2.5%. British Columbia also saw a decrease in retail sales, down by 0.6%, led by lower sales at furniture, home furnishings, electronics, and appliances retailers. In the Vancouver census metropolitan area, retail sales were down by 0.9%.

On the other hand, the largest provincial increase in retail sales in February was observed in Manitoba, up by 1.8%. This increase was led by higher sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers.

Retail e-commerce sales in Canada, on a seasonally adjusted basis, decreased by 0.3% to $4.3 billion in February, accounting for 6.3% of total retail trade.

Statistics Canada also provided an advance estimate of retail sales, suggesting that sales increased 0.7% in March. This early estimate, based on responses received from 67.1% of companies surveyed, will be revised. The average final response rate for the survey over the previous 12 months was 91.2%.

CBIC Economics’ Katherine Judge responded to the report in saying, "While the March advance estimate showed a rebound in nominal sales to 0.7%, which may have reflected some tariff-front running purchases of goods, in terms of monthly GDP for March, that figure will be offset by the previously reported sharp decrease in advance manufacturing sales for the month.

This article first appeared in Investing.com